Systemic Approach for Risk-Based Third-Party Inspections of Fire Alarm Systems

The proposed conference paper addresses a systemic approach for risk-based third-party inspections of fire alarm systems. In the first part of the article, there is a comprehensive literature review of what the status is regarding current research on the use of risk-based inspection methodology on fire alarm systems. This is followed by an explanation of the chosen methodology. The paper then evaluates and presents the results of expert interviews with manufacturers of fire alarm systems as well as the results of surveys among recognized experts for the inspection of fire alarm systems in Germany. The evaluation is carried out by means of a qualitative content analysis. Using the results from these surveys as well as the findings on defect occurrence-statistics from previous work by the authors, a systemic approach for the risk-based test content to be selected for third-party inspections of the systems by technical experts is then presented. The results serve as a basis for an optimized inspection concept to increase efficiency in the operation of the systems while maintaining or improving availability. Furthermore, suggestions are made as to which inspection contents must be included or given increased attention due to technical innovations as well as a changed risk situation. The last part of the conference contribution is a discussion of the results and a summary of the most important findings.